Sunday, April 24, 2016

Hasidic Challengers To Zoning Law Suffer a Defeat on Appeal

A [New York] state appeals court has upheld the Village of Woodbury’s Comprehensive Plan and zoning laws, reversing a 2014 ruling that branded the zoning “exclusionary” for failing to accommodate the high-density housing needs of the Hasidic residents of neighboring Kiryas Joel.

In Matter of Village of Kiryas Joel, N.Y. v Village of Woodbury, N.Y., (NY App. Div., April 10, 2016), the appeals court concluded that the trial court should not have annulled the village's zoning action on environmental review and other procedural grounds. It sent the case back to the trial court, holding that "triable issues of fact exist as to whether the Comprehensive Plan and the Zoning Amendments amount to unconstitutional exclusionary zoning." (See prior related posting).